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Ever wonder why mom’s and grandma’s cooking can never be matched and why no matter how many times you try it never ends up tasting the same? Despite the years of experience and loads of love that it feels only they could possess, there are some other little tricks of the trade. Well…in our “use it before you lose it” mentality we take with us to the grocery store we often forget how “they” did it when we try to tackle their home-grown recipes. So lesson of the day: do not throw away over ripe produce. First off, how many of us really pay attention to the ripeness of our produce? Not all of us own the land or the faculty to grow all of our own. My current bounty is limited to a window box of herbs until the next growing season allows a more fruitful garden. So given our resources we must look at our best options. It is a hard lesson learned to those virgins to canning and even to simple things like banana bread. If you use perfect, unbruised fruits or vegetables your canned tomatoes and banana bread are going to taste as green as a dandelion. It is often what we find in what we throw away, that tasty treasures can be found in an evasive adversary. Simple matter of fact, if you want the most fragrant and delicious banana bread, use bananas that have gone too soft to eat raw, often their peels have started turning black. The best canned strawberry jam I ever had I watched my mom peel off the bad spots from an overripe bin to reveal the brightest, most explosive taste of strawberry, only achievable in the midst of May, standing in a strawberry field. Unless we benefit from learning side by side with our mentors, and take the time to trim our over-ripened fruit and veg, we will always lose out on the complex taste that our loved ones had to offer from their kitchens. If they could take the time to germinate the love they had for us, and give it to us in food, so can we. Food for thought. Cheers.

Move Over, Naked Chef.